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Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Two Greatest Democratic Duties

Although nothing is perfect democracy provides a system for
the law and electing leaders that we have to work with while pushing for needed
reform. We are given the constitutional right, and responsibility, to participate
as full members in these systems for our own good, the good of others, and the
good of the nation. Jury duty and voting are both civil responsibilities
requiring the exercise of freewill to choose the outcome that affects our lives
and futures in very direct ways. Both are essential to a functioning democracy.
Both are duties and should be treated as such. Both should have the same level
of mandatory participation a required of those chosen to serve as jurists now.
It’s not anti-democratic, it’s central to a healthy democracy, as many around
the world already know and demonstrate.

Perhaps, if you threatened people with contempt charges and
fines for not showing up, you might get a higher percentage of voters
participating than the roughly half who show up now. Many might spoil their ballots,
but at least this would get counted, they would have their say not fume in
silence. Many might actually decide that because they are forced to show up
anyway, they might as well exercise their right to choose those who will rule
over them. They may even decide to try and make an informed choice, paying
perhaps a little more attention to what’s happening in the real world than on “Reality”
TV.They might realize which one
actually affects their own lives.

Maybe then people might realize that you have to work with
what you have while striving for something better and that most lasting change
is slow but can suddenly break loose if one is patient and persistent. One can
become proud of oneself for trying to be part of the solution rather than a
complaining part of the problem. Things might even change for the better.

Jury duty is based on the recognition that sometimes people
need a prod to make them do the right thing. It forces the citizen past inertia
and a self-centered life for a moment to make adult decisions about the nature
of the world. Ideally decisions based on informed reason. Mandatory voting is not a limit on free-will
but a push to use it. Voting and jury duty are the two most key things a
citizen can do to directly affect the country and the future. They are far from
futile, placing genuine power in the hands of the average citizen. They are
fundamental rights and responsibilities for a modern democracy.

It’s tragic that it seems to take the threat of punishment to
get people moving and engaged in their own rights and lives. Almost half seem continent
to place these things in the hands of the very politicians they don’t trust
with nothing but mild complaint. You can only determine your own fate and that
of your country if you participate in the decisions involved. Otherwise you
trust the judgement of others.

Bound by more duties and trust than most of us, soldiers do
their part for the country every day. Staying aware of the world beyond your
immediate life and taking time to vote takes far less of our time, effort, and possible
sacrifice. We aren’t asked to die, just choose responsibly and maturely.

Lack of participation starves democracy, allowing it to be overwhelmed
by the active minority. Perception is
everything in politics. If you believe you are powerless, then you are. Juries and voting give us a voice, a chance to
force those who would rule us to obey instead. That is why democracy was
invented. You often have to speak
loudly to get the attention and action of those who would lead.

Jury duty and voting aren’t everything, but they are
safeguards, the minimum that should be required of all who benefit from being a
citizen of our country. They are the
bases upon which other forms of peaceful citizen action should be built.

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About Me

The Pündi are a race from my fantasy novels, the Continuum Chronicles, an exploration of spiritual evolution theory. Appearing like us, they are really child-sized aliens cursed by their own intelligence, trapped as observers unable to share their knowledge. They often develop an individual obsessive interest.

I write and publish, not selling anything, just trying to share ideas that might profit everyone. I aim not for originality but creativity, organizing what exists to generate new associations. I'm a writer with thick glasses and autism, familiar with the struggle for clarity. Novelist, researcher, internet activist, spiritual evolutionist, and process philosopher, I believe in democratic social capitalism with a well-regulated engine of sustainable markets. As a writer, I find that most blockages tend to be improvements trying to occur to me.